Caverns (Exploration, I)

A: No matter which entrance/exit you use to access the Caverns from the Ruined Temple, you'll ultimately be forced to work your way northward through this gigantic dungeon. As soon as you enter the first room, you'll be assaulted by a robust group of Cultists. It appears their creepy presence has reached even this far. These Cultists mean business, so dig in and get to work. Cultist Reavers will be the least of your worries here, since you'll have to deal with Ash Wraiths and even a powerful Cultist Overseer as well. Try to stay in the southern end of this rectangular room as you deal with these guys, since venturing too far north will draw out an entirely new party of enemies that we'll discuss below.

B: Approaching location B will draw out more enemies to fight you, so when you reach the actual location designated on the map, expect that you will be well-inundated with a fresh force of baddies. Reavers and Mages make up this easy-to-defeat party. As we mentioned earlier, the key to surviving this fight is to ensure that you isolate and destroy the enemies at location A before moving northward to location B. If you neglect to do this, you'll end up combining the two parties, exponentially complicating the situation in the process. Here, the Cultist Mages can make your life hellish, so deal with them first, and then deal with their melee-dependent friends thereafter. Try to lure any remaining humanoid enemies out of the tunnel on your left before proceeding, if you can. Also, there should be a treasure chest nearby that you can easily open.

C: As you enter the tunnel at and around location C on the map, expect to run into an easy-to-defeat breed of enemy you've yet to encounter in the game. These baby dragons are called Dragonlings, and though they will eventually grow up to be fearsome dragons (well, if you let them live that is), in this state, they are nothing but overly-aggressive blade fodder. While you'll want to be wary of traps set here (which your rogue can easily disarm), focus your attacks fully on Dragonlings as you work your way westward and then northward through the tunnel. You'll be assaulted by quite a few foes here, but as long as you stop in your tracks when a Dragonling or two approach you, kill them, and then proceed, you should never find yourself overly-inundated.

D: As the northward-leading tunnel opens up into another large chamber, you'll find yourself at the location designated. A Cultist party heavy with magic users will assault you here, in addition to any straggling Dragonlings you didn't yet deal with from the previous passageway. As usual, because the mages here can cause massive damage, as well as paralyze your entire party, try to mark them for death first. Then, go after any remaining Reavers (and whoever else) still remains. The main draw of this large chamber, in addition to its considerable occupying enemy party, is its fairly sizeable cache of goods. Explore the eastern end of the chamber for codex entries and goods lying around. A rogue will be needed to open one of the treasure chests near the bunks.

E: This chamber will throw more of the same at you. Dragonlings, in addition to a small contingent of Cultists, will assault you here. As usual, focus on the most powerful enemies first, and leave the stragglers for last. Scour dead bodies, once all is said and done, for more goods and coin (if your inventory is getting filled up at this point in your quest for the ashes, you may need to turn around and sell some stuff off back at camp). There should also be goods around you to grab in boxes and chests, so be thorough here.